Alba
' Alba '''is one of the Trade Cities located to the south of Myrr. The southern-most and oldest of the Trade Cities, it lies on the southern coast of Runge, where the mighty Delacroix River meets the Summer Sea. It was founded as a colony of the Noxians many centuries ago and is a great port. People from Alba are known as '''Albanese.' City Location Alba is the southeastern-most of the Trade Cities, located east of the Southern Lands. Alba sprawls across one of the four mouths of the Delacroix, where the river flows into the Summer Sea. To the north is the river Tadema. The cities Nero, Chielo, and Frosinone are located directly northeast of the city and are ruled by Alba. It also controls the Delacroix as far as the tributary river Blake, and holds sway over the Orange Shore, west of the city. Climate The climate of Alba is hot and humid, the air is hot and heavy. Beyond the waterfront and its breezes the streets and alleys of Alba are enough to drown a man in his own sweat, as least on the eastern side of the river. Heat shimmers off of the streets, giving a dreamlike quality to the surroundings. There is also a smell that hangs in the air, rich, rank and pervasive. There is fish in it, flowers and some elephant dung, also something sweet and something earthy and something dead and rotten. In Alba the nights are almost as hot as the days. Layout Alba is a port city. Its large, deep harbor is ideally placed. Albanese claim that the land of Valentia could be dropped into the harbor and disappear. Alba spreads across the mouth of the Delacroix and across the hills and marshes on both sides of the river. The older districts of the city lie upon the eastern banks, while the newer districts are located on the west. These two halves are connected by the Long Bridge. The White Walls of eastern Alba protect a large labyrinth of palaces, courtyards, towers, temples, cloisters, bridges, and cellars. The White Walls are a great oval of fused white stone, harder than steel or diamond, built two hundred feet high by the Noxian Freeheld. It protects the oldest part of the city on the eastern shore, often called Old Alba. It is wide enough for six four-horse chariots to race around its top abreast, as is done each year to celebrate the founding of the city. Many inside the White Walls keep the old gods of the forest, but the four graces is favored outside the white Walls, both by slaves and freedmen. The Temple of the Four Graces is located in the eastern half of Alba, and according to Archmaester Gramyon, it is about three times the size of the Great temple of Dakar XII in the capital. The Long Bridge joins the two halves of Alba across the mouth of the Delacroix. It is a great span with a road supported by massive piers that the Noxians built at the height of their glory. Its gateway is an arch of black stone carved with sphinxes, manticores, dragons and other beasts. The road is wide enough for two carts to pass abreast. Buildings rise on either side of the roadway. One can buy almost anything in the shops on the Long Bridge. In the center of the bridge are displayed the hands of thieves and the heads of executed criminals. Fishermonger's Square is a bustling square in western Alba congested with traffic where fishmongers sell their catches. The Merchant's House, located on Fishmonger's Square, is the finest inn in Alba. People The Albanese feel that people of quality should not travel afoot, but instead by palanquin or in a hathay. Travelling afoot can taint a person in the eyes of both the native-born Albanese and the foreign captains in the city. According to semi-canon sources the freeborn citizens tattoo themselves to show prowess in battle and as a record of their exploits. The Old Blood refers to some of the population in Alba , noble families who can prove unbroken descent from old Noxia itself. Only those of the Old Blood are allowed to live within the White Walls of eastern Alba , and only they can invite slaves, freedmen, or foreigners to enter. Freeborn Albanese with enough property can vote the next mayor. There are precious few voters on the western side of Alba , over the river. Slaves There are five slaves for each freedman in Alba. It is custom in Alba to have the faces of slaves tattooed, to mark their status. This custom is similarly practised in the cities under the control of Alba, like Selhorys. Known slave tattoos of Alba include: * Squares of motley, from neck to scalp: fools and jesters. * A wheel tattooed upon one cheek: driver of an hathay. * A mask of blue feathers. * A lightning bolt that ran from jaw to brow. * A coin upon the cheek. * A leopard's spots. * A skull. * A jug. * Flies on the cheeks: slaves collecting elephant and horse dung. * Flames across the cheeks: members of the Fiery Hand. * Flames across the cheeks, chin and forehead: priests of the faith of the Four Graces. * A horsehead on the cheek: workers in stables. * Tiger stripes, green as jade, across the cheeks: slave soldiers. * A single tear beneath the right eye: prostitutes. * A cog's figurehead upon one cheek: slaves bound to a ship. Triarchs Alba is ruled by three triarchs, chosen anually through festive and tumultuous elections. While foreigners might see the elections as chaotic, they are usually peaceful. All freeborn who own land, regardless of gender, are allowed to vote. They are chosen from amongst the noble families who can prove unbroken descent from old Noxia and will serve until the first day of the new year. The triarchs of Alba are considered so elevated that they are not allowed to have their feet touch the ground during their year of service. The elections last ten days, with much campaigning and bribery. The triarchs belong to one of two political parties, the elephants and the tigers. The elephants are the party of the merchants and moneylenders advocating trade, while the tigers are old aristocracy and warriors interested in conquest and more glory for the empire. At no time has more than one tiger been named triarch. Some of the first elephants were women, one of whom, Leana, was returned four times. Alba has not had a female triarch for three hundred years. Economy While Alba was, at the time of the Doom of Noxia, the mightiest of the Trade Cities, in the centuries that followed it had to give up that position to their overlords, the Empire. Alba is key to the slave market, trading heavily with the cities of Slaver's Bay to the east. It is said there are five slaves to every free man in the city. Albanese are fond of sweet beets, which they grow in profusion and serve in most major culinary dishes in the city. They make a cold soup of the beets which is as thick and rich as purple honey. The Albanese are known for their sweet red wine. Few ships from the capital come as far as Alba , and those who do fill their holds with silk and spice from the Jade Sea, then bend their oars for home. History Foundation Alba is the oldest of the Trade Cities, founded at some point after the destruction of the Old Republic of Noxia. It was the first colony of the Noxian Freehold. Established to protect the borders of the Freehold, Alba was little more than a garrison protected by the White Walls for a hundred years. Wealthy nobles used this military outpost to take advantage of trade along the Delacroix, however, and settlements quickly grew on both sides of the river. Construction of the Long Bridge to cross the Delacroix began under Triarch Trudeau the Munificent. Delacroix Wars In the Second Spice War, the last of these wars, Alba and three warlords destroyed the regions of the north. Prince Garin of Chroyane declared war and marched at the head of the biggest army the world had seen. He won victories at Malta, Frosinone, and Piemonte, where he faced a hundred thousand enemies and hundred elephants. After Piemonte, the Albanese behind the White Walls asked the Freehold for help. The alliance between Alba and the Freehold shattered Garin's host, and it is said the blood of the Delacroix turned the great harbor of Alba red as far as one could see. Century of Blood After the Doom of Noxia and the rise of the empire, the Albanese considered themselves the heirs to the Freehold and rightful rulers of the world. They sent a fleet to claim the peninsula, but it vanished in the Smoking Sea. Those in Alba were divided on how to achieve conquest against the other Trade Cities. Those of the Old Blood favored war, whilst the moneylenders and merchants favored trade. These two factions became known as the tigers and the elephants, respectively. The tigers held sway for almost a century, and Alba called for war upon the other cities, with the tigers leading the city into a great conflict with the other daughters. They were successful at first, taking control of Carddyf and Suffolk. When they tried to take Brighton, however, The Empire joined Brighton and conquered Alba in less than a year. Recent History For the last three centuries, at least two of the three triarchs in power have been elephants. Triarch Baudelaire, who had been returned as triarch for forty years, declared himself as triarch for life. In response, he was seized by rioters soon after, tied between two elephant animals, and torn apart. Princess Saera Vixis, a younger daughter of Dakar XII Vixis, ended her days in Alba as the proprietor of a famous pleasure house.